New York, NY, November 19, 2014 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned the vote in the Spanish parliament urging its government to recognize a state of Palestine just hours after Palestinian terrorists murdered Jewish worshippers in a Jerusalem synagogue.

The lower house of Spain’s parliament passed a non-binding motion calling on the government to “recognize Palestine as a state.” The motion passed with 319 votes in favor, two opposed and one abstention, and Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Garcia-Margallo expressed satisfaction at the result.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

On a day of mourning across Israel and in Jewish communities around the world, the Spanish parliament saw fit to urge its government to recognize a Palestinian state. This insulting decision will not contribute to peace, and will only encourage the Palestinian Authority’s intransigence on direct negotiations with Israel.

While other European governments have not followed Sweden’s reckless act of unilateral recognition, these so-called symbolic parliamentary votes in Spain – and earlier in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and forthcoming in France – undermine confidence in a constructive role for the European Union to promote Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

ADL is the world’s leading anti-hate organization. Founded in 1913 in response to an escalating climate of anti-Semitism and bigotry, its timeless mission is to protect the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all. Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of hate with the same vigor and passion. A global leader in exposing extremism, delivering anti-bias education, and fighting hate online, ADL is the first call when acts of anti-Semitism occur. ADL’s ultimate goal is a world in which no group or individual suffers from bias, discrimination or hate.